JB Accepts, published online ahead of print on 2 November 2007

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Wiethaus, J. Articles by Masepohl, B. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Wiethaus, J. Articles by Masepohl, B.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

J. Bacteriol. doi:10.1128/JB.01510-07
Copyright (c) 2007, American Society for Microbiology and/or the Listed Authors/Institutions. All Rights Reserved.

The GntR-like regulator TauR activates expression of taurine utilization genes in Rhodobacter capsulatus

Jessica Wiethaus, Britta Schubert, Yvonne Pfänder, Franz Narberhaus, and Bernd Masepohl^*

Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Fakultät für Biologie, Lehrstuhl für Biologie der Mikroorganismen, 44780 Bochum, Germany

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: bernd.masepohl{at}rub.de.

Rhodobacter capsulatus can efficiently grow with taurine as sole sulfur source. The products of the tpa-tauR-xsc gene region are essential for this activity. TauR, a MocR-like member of the GntR superfamily of transcriptional regulators, activates tpa transcription as shown by analysis of wild-type and tauR mutant strains carrying a tpa-lacZ reporter fusion. Activation of the tpa promoter requires taurine but is not inhibited by sulfate, which is the preferred sulfur source. TauR directly binds to the tpa promoter as demonstrated by DNA mobility shift assays. As expected for a transcriptional activator, the TauR binding site is located upstream of the transcription start site, which has been determined by primer extension. Site-directed promoter mutations reveal that TauR binds to direct repeats, an unusual property that has to date been shown for only one other member of the MocR subfamily, namely GabR from Bacillus subtilis. In contrast, all other members of the GntR family analyzed so far bind to inverted repeats.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Mayer, J., Cook, A. M. (2009). Homotaurine Metabolized to 3-Sulfopropanoate in Cupriavidus necator H16: Enzymes and Genes in a Patchwork Pathway. J. Bacteriol. 191: 6052-6058 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Blancato, V. S., Repizo, G. D., Suarez, C. A., Magni, C. (2008). Transcriptional Regulation of the Citrate Gene Cluster of Enterococcus faecalis Involves the GntR Family Transcriptional Activator CitO. J. Bacteriol. 190: 7419-7430 [Abstract] [Full Text]